


Just Sick

by bowties_Scarves_and_Plaid



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Family Bonding, Gen, Mystery Illness, POV Ben Hargreeves, Sick Klaus Hargreeves, Sickfic, Sober Klaus Hargreeves, the fam actually comes together to take care of Klaus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-06-24 11:51:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19723096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bowties_Scarves_and_Plaid/pseuds/bowties_Scarves_and_Plaid
Summary: This takes place in some ambiguous timeline after the siblings have stopped the apocalypse but are all the ages they are during the show.Klaus gets sick and for the first time in his life, his family doesn't dismiss it and they all come together to take care of him.





	1. Chapter 1

Three sharp knocks on the door startled Ben. He wasn’t normally taken by surprise, but he’d been so focused on Klaus that he hadn’t heard the heavy footsteps of Number One approaching the door.

“Family meeting in ten,” Luther said, not waiting for a response as he went off to wake up the next family member, no doubt.

Ben turned back to Klaus and found him looking at him with bright green eyes. Ben stepped closer to him and observed him with a frown. Klaus had been tossing and turning all night and the circles under his eyes indicated that what little sleep he got was not very restful. He was pale and sweaty and his eyes were glazed and unfocused as they looked at Ben. This, plus the violent shivers Klaus was trying to hide led Ben to one obvious conclusion.

“You’re sick,” He said quietly, kneeling next to Klaus’ bed.

“‘M fine,” Klaus responded, but he had closed his eyes and his brow was furrowed with the effort of speaking. Ben really wished he could take his brother’s temperature.

“I think you might have the flu,” Ben said and was surprised when he didn’t even receive so much as an eye roll from Klaus. Normally his brother went to great lengths to pretend he wasn’t sick. Klaus was the type to make a huge deal over a papercut, but when he was really hurt he tended to draw in on himself and hide how bad it really was. So he must feel really rotten if he wasn’t going to argue about having the flu. “Come on Klaus, you promised that if a good night’s sleep didn’t help, you would tell someone. Klaus!” Ben raised his voice slightly when Klaus didn’t respond.

“Five more minutes,” Klaus said sleepily.

“Klaus, you can sleep just as soon as you tell Luther that you are sick.”

“Not sick,” Klaus said and struggled into a sitting position. The effort of that made him look like he was about to pass out and Ben wished for the millionth time that he was still alive so he could catch his brother if he fell.

“Bullshit,” Ben said, watching Klaus wearily as he stood up. “You are sick and you know it, just tell Luther and then you can get back in bed.”

“S’all good, I’m good,” Klaus said as he unsteadily changed into random clothes he found on the floor. He had to pause before putting on his shirt because they effort of putting on his pants had made it hard for him to breathe. Once he’d caught his breath he looked at Ben and said, “Besides, it’s not like they’ll believe me.”

The words sent a pang of hurt and anger through Ben and he took a few seconds to compose himself as Klaus headed to the bathroom to splash water on his face. Ben knew that he couldn’t blame his siblings for always assuming that Klaus was high or drunk, or both. Klaus certainly had a track record to support their assumptions. But Ben knew better. He knew how hard Klaus was working to stay sober and he could tell that it bothered Klaus every time he was dismissed by his siblings.

They hadn't believed that Klaus could see Ben and none of them (other than Five and Diego) seemed to have noticed how different Klaus was after returning from Vietnam. They hadn’t believed him about their father’s suicide until Pogo had confirmed it. But the worst of it probably was none of them seemed to realize that he was actually sober for the first time in a long time.

Klaus stumbled back into his bedroom unsteadily. He sat on his bed and waited for his dizziness to subside, then he proceeded to put his shoes on. He looked slightly more alert after splashing cold water on his face, but he still looked like death warmed over.

“Besides,” Klaus continued hoarsely, “I'm sure Luther has an important mission to brief us on, I don’t have time to be sick.” Despite his false bravado, Klaus was still shivering. Ben pointed at the floor and Klaus gratefully picked up his black coat and slipped it on over his cut off army shirt.

Ben was once again startled out of his worrying by three loud knocks.

“Klaus, bro, let’s go, Luther has a case,” it was Diego this time and Ben perked up.

“It’s Diego, he’ll believe you, tell him how you are feeling,” Ben urged.

“Coming,” Klaus said, completely ignoring Ben. He swung open his door with a flourish and gave Diego the most unconvincing smile Ben had ever seen. Diego, of course, didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.

“You can't save lives if you die,” Ben commented as he followed his brother’s down the hall. Klaus sent a look over his shoulder that said ‘Stop being so dramatic, I’m not going to die’. “Fine, but if you die of an infection or something I’m going to move on and leave your sorry ass here to haunt our sibling alone.”

Klaus snorted at that, but the sound got caught in his throat as he turned back around. The sudden movement obviously hurt his aching head and he stumbled slightly into Diego. Diego paused for a moment to look over at Number Four.

“You alright?” Diego asked, putting a hand on his arm to steady him. Ben could tell where Diego’s mind had gone the second Klaus stumbled. Klaus obviously came to the same conclusion because he pulled away from Diego.

“Just peachy,” Klaus responded immediately and turned away from Diego’s inspection to start walking again.

“You don’t look just peachy,” Diego said as he fell back into step with Klaus.

“It’s just a bit of a cold,” Klaus hedged. Ben wanted to scream at Diego and tell him that if Klaus was admitting he was a little bit sick, it meant that he was actually seriously ill.

“But you’re not...I-I mean you haven’t…” Diego trailed off sheepishly.

“I’m still sober if that’s what you are asking,” Klaus said shortly.

“Tell him you have the flu,” Ben urged.

“It’s just a cold,” Klaus repeated to Diego, but he was looking at Ben. His eyes held a look of grim determination. Ben threw up his hands in frustration and stalked ahead of his brothers to the living room.

*****

Klaus sat in the corner of the room during Luther’s brief and Ben could tell that he wasn’t absorbing any of the information. His knees were pulled up to his chest and he was practically vibrating with shivers. Ben was half listening to Luther and half focusing on his sick brother. He kept looking around at his siblings and hoping they’d see how off Klaus was acting. It was highly unusual for him to be so still and disengaged. Normally, he would’ve interrupted Luther several times already with a comment that would make his siblings smile, roll their eyes, or shake their heads.

“Klaus, are you okay?” Five’s voice cut through Luther’s. Ben looked at his brother, surprised that it was he who had noticed. Although, the 58-year-old was hyper-observant so maybe he shouldn’t have been surprised.

Number Four gave no indication that he’d heard Five’s question. 

“Klaus?” Luther asked softly, taking a step closer to his brother.

“Klaus, they’re talking to you,” Ben urged, moving into Klaus’ line of vision. Klaus, who had been staring into space, blinked a couple of times before focusing on Ben. Number Six wasn’t sure if his brother had been experiencing a flashback or if this was just because he was sick.

“Wha…” Klaus said as he looked around at his siblings in a daze.

“Are you high?” Luther asked, his tone wasn’t accusatory or angry, he sounded more like a disappointed parent. Ben saw Klaus register the question and hated the sadness that he could see in his eyes.

“He’s been sober for weeks Luther, he’s doing really well,” Vanya rushed to Klaus’ defense. Ben was immensely grateful for their sweet sister. Since the whole apocalypse fiasco, their family had been making efforts to be kinder to one another, but Luther still needed reminders that Klaus was trying his hardest to stay sober.

“No, he’s not high, he’s just got a cold,” Diego hurried to reassure Number One.

“I think this is more than a cold,” Five said and before anyone could blink he jumped next to Klaus and put his hand on his forehead. Five hissed and stepped back, “You’re burning up kid.”

“Hey!” Klaus protested, swinging his arms at the space where Five’s hand had just been, his sickness making his reflexes slow.

“Are you sure it isn’t drug related?” Luther asked, still not convinced. Ben couldn’t blame him for questioning it, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to slap some sense into Luther.

“‘M not dope sick…” Klaus slurred and then groaned, clutching his head. Allison went over and started rubbing his back.

“No, you’re just sick,” She said softly.


	2. Chapter 2

Allison’s quiet but firm declaration spurred the siblings into action, and Ben was grateful for it. Diego went off in search of Mom or Pogo, Five jumped to get Klaus a glass of water and a cool cloth, Allison and Vanya stayed to comfort Klaus, and Luther hovered anxiously beside them.

“Ask him to get you some blankets,” Ben said and Klaus turned to look at him in confusion. “Luther. He obviously feels bad about doubting you but isn’t sure how to help you. If you give him a job he’ll feel better,” Ben explained. Klaus looked at him for a few long seconds and Ben wasn’t sure if he’d comprehended anything Number Six had said. Then he looked over at Luther and Ben could see understanding cross his face as Klaus saw how Number One was fidgeting.

“Um, Luther…” Klaus said hesitantly. “Could you get me some blankets?”

“You’re cold, of course,” Luther said and neither Klaus nor Ben missed the look of relief on his face as he hurried out of the room.

“When did you start feeling sick?” Allison asked, brushing a few sweaty curls off of Klaus’ forehead. She and Vanya were sitting close to Klaus, they didn’t seem to be worried about catching his sickness as they gave him the physical comfort they knew he needed. Ben felt another swell of gratefulness for his siblings for providing something he could not.

“Yesterday, I was hoping that a good night’s sleep would help,” Klaus murmured. He pinched the bridge of his nose and then leaned his head on Allison’s shoulder. “It didn’t.”

“God, you’re warm,” Allison murmured when his head touched her shoulder.

“Not that you really got a good night’s sleep,” Ben commented. Klaus looked like he was going to respond to Ben, but he was interrupted by the reappearance of Five. He was balancing a bowl in one hand and a large glass of water in the other. Ben was surprised to see that nothing spilled when Five jumped into existence.

Five strolled over and handed the bowl to Vanya and the cup to Klaus. Klaus took the glass but didn’t make any move to drink.

“Drink,” Five and Ben said at the same time. Klaus jumped slightly in surprise and Ben smirked at Five.

“You know you need lots of water when you’re sick,” Ben reminded him. He could write a book on how to care for Klaus at all times. Drunk, high, sober, sick, sad…

“What’s Ben saying?” Vanya asked, noticing how Klaus kept looking at a spot that she would consider to be thin air. Klaus blinked at her in shock, both he and Ben weren’t used to their siblings believing that Ben was really there. Klaus took a worryingly long time to respond to Vanya’s question.

“That I need a lot of water when I’m sick,” Klaus mumbled finally and then lifted his head up to take a small sip. Five seemed satisfied that he’d fulfilled his job and took a seat in the chair next to the couch.

“Do you get sick a lot?” Allison asked. Klaus shook his head and then froze as all of the color drained out of his face.

“Nauseous?” Ben guessed.

“And dizzy...wasn’t a good idea,” Klaus said breathily and put a hand to his head. Vanya seemed to remember the bowl of water in her lap. She wrung out the washcloth and put it on Klaus’ forehead. Klaus’ eyes fell closed with a contented sigh and he relaxed against the couch.

“I remember when we were kids you got sick all of the time and had to miss whole days of training,” Allison said. Ben knew he was the only one who noticed the small wince that crossed Klaus’ face.

“You should really tell them that it was special training and that you weren’t really sick, you were just locked in a mausoleum for hours on end,” Ben urged Klaus, and not for the first time. Klaus loved to get attention, but only when it was for superficial things that he could control. When it came to real things like the mausoleum, being kidnapped and tortured, or spending 10 months in Vietnam, Klaus tended to downplay their severity or just ignore them entirely.

“Not right now,” Klaus opened up his eyes to look at Ben. Number Six was slightly surprised by the intensity he saw in those green eyes. He sighed and held up his hands in surrender, wondering if Klaus ever had the intention of telling their siblings.

“What?” Allison asked, obviously confused about his response to her comment.

“He’s talking to Ben,” Five said casually, but Ben saw that he was sitting forward in his chair and studying Klaus carefully. “What does Ben want you to tell us? Is it something about your sickness as a kid?”

“No, no, he’s just being a worry-wort. That kid stuff was just plain old normal sicknesses. I just have a c-crappy immune system,” Klaus said, he took the cloth off of his head and seemed to be shivering more now.

“Liar,” Ben said softly, although he knew that Klaus heard him.

“Where is Luther with those damn blankets?” Allison asked and the conversation from a second ago dropped as worry for Klaus took over. Ben looked at Five and saw that he had a determined look on his face. Ben could only hope that Five pursued this topic in the future and that he could get Klaus to finally talk about it.

“Right here, sorry,” Luther came in, carrying an armful of probably every blanket in the entire mansion. He dropped them on the floor and then very carefully draped three of them over Klaus.

“Thanks,” Klaus said, giving his brother a weak smile.

A few seconds later Diego came in, Grace following closely behind him with her first aid kit.

“Oh, poor Klaus,” Their mom said soothingly as she took in his appearance. Silence fell over the siblings as Grace busied herself with examining Klaus. After a few moments, she took the blankets off of Klaus, put the washcloth back on his head, and handed him the glass of water that Allison had put on the floor.

“Mom?” Diego asked from where he sat on the arm of the couch next to Vanya.

“He has a fever of 102 degrees, the most important thing is that we bring that down. Hydration and the cloth should help. I’ll get some Ibuprofen as well, that should help with the fever,” Grace said and straightened up to leave the room.

“But he’s okay?” Vanya asked softly. Their mom turned around and gave them all a reassuring smile.

“It’s most likely just the flu, he’ll be fine children,” She said and walked out of the room.

“She took my blankets,” Klaus whined and Ben couldn’t help but roll his eyes at his brother’s pathetic sounding voice. Leave it to Klaus to completely ignore the fact that he had a dangerously high fever.

“I know buddy, but we have to bring down your fever. Then you can snuggle up in as many blankets as you want,” Diego said, reaching over Vanya to ruffle his hair.

“Drink,” Five said, repeating his instruction from earlier. Klaus stuck out his tongue at Number Five but took another small sip.

Grace returned and handed Klaus two small pills. Ibuprofen was a minor pain reliever so no one worried about giving it to Klaus. But just to be safe, Ben noted that Mom was holding onto the bottle.

“Drink that whole glass and then get plenty of rest. I will be back to check his fever in an hour, but if anything changes make sure to let me know right away,” She instructed and then once again left the room.

“Where would you be most comfortable Klaus? Do you want to stay here or do you want to go back up to your bed? We can stay with you either way,” Allison asked. Klaus swallowed the pills and then drank a few sips of water before putting the glass back on the floor.

“Here,” He said and adjusted himself so that his head was in Vanya’s lap and his legs were thrown over Allison’s. His two sisters chuckled and allowed him to get comfortable. Vanya dipped the cloth back into the cool water before replacing it on Klaus’ forehead.

“We could set up the projector, maybe watch a movie?” Luther suggested.

“Yeah, that’ll help your headache,” Ben said.

“That sounds lovely, it’ll take my mind off of things,” Klaus said, giving Ben a pointed look. Ben shrugged and didn’t say anything else. He was pretty sure Klaus would just end up falling asleep during the movie anyway.

“I’ll help you,” Diego said and stood up to help Luther set up the movie. It was little things like that, that told Ben his siblings were growing closer and changing for the better. In the past, Diego would never offer to help Luther out of the goodness of his heart. If he ever did offer, it was usually just to try to prove that he could do whatever it was better than Number One. Ben loved to see his siblings putting in the effort to get along.

“You three look comfy, so I’ll make us some popcorn,” Five said, standing up. 

“Ugh,” Klaus groaned and wrapped his arms around his stomach.

“I’ll make some popcorn for those of us who aren’t nauseous,” Five amended. He hesitated before jumping and looked Klaus over. “Do you want soup or something?”

“Not hungry.”

“What about tea?” Five pressed. 

“Sure,” Klaus said after a moment’s hesitation. Five looked satisfied and disappeared into a flash of blue.

“You only said yes so that he’d stop pestering you didn’t you?” Ben guessed.

“Damn right,” Klaus said with a smile. Allison and Vanya exchanged a look over his head but didn’t say anything. Ben was glad for that. After Klaus had first made him corporal, they’d constantly asked where Ben was or what he was saying. Klaus finally had to sit them down and explain that Ben liked to sass and was constantly making snide comments and that it was exhausting to relay every single one. Klaus promised to let them know whenever Ben has something important to say.

A few minutes later Diego and Luther got the movie set up and Five came back with the popcorn and Klaus’ tea. Diego and Luther had picked The Princess Bride. When they were kids, it had been one of the only movies they could all agree on. It had action, adventure, romance, and comedy all rolled into one. There was a little something for each member of the Umbrella Academy.

They settled in and turned on the movie. As Ben had predicted, Klaus fell asleep before the first scene had ended. He seemed content amongst his siblings, however, so they opted to continue the movie. Vanya continued to refresh the cloth on Klaus’ forehead and at one point Diego got up and replaced the now warm water in the bowl.

An hour into the movie, Grace came in to check on Klaus’ temperature. The sick and exhausted man didn’t even stir as she put the thermometer under his tongue.

All of the Hargreeves siblings relaxed when Grace leaned back and announced that Klaus would still need plenty of rest, but that his temperature was going down.

Ben sat on the floor with his back leaning up against the couch and watched the rest of the movie with his siblings. They couldn’t see him and he couldn’t interact with them, but he felt more connected to them at that moment than he had felt since dying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're wondering how there are still so many chapters left in this fic, that is because all is not as it seems :)


	3. Chapter 3

Ben never knew what to do with himself at night. He could sometimes forget during the day that he was a ghost. Klaus’ vibrant personality and easy conversation could sometimes distract him from the fact that he was dead. Or at the very least make it so he wasn’t dwelling on it.

But at night, when the house was quiet and dark, Ben had nothing else to think about. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, he would usually try to find whatever sibling stayed up the latest and hang with them. 

It was usually Five, and he was always knee deep in some kind of complicated formula that Ben couldn’t hope to understand. Ben would get his book and sit in the corner of Five’s room and read, allowing the mutterings of his brother to wash over him like a sound machine.

Some nights it was Klaus. Now that his brother had stopped using, he had a more regular sleep schedule, but there were still nights were the ghosts of either the past or the present kept him awake. On these nights Ben and Klaus could usually be found in the kitchen, chatting away as Klaus prepared a random meal for two. Ben was glad that he was a ghost because he had an excuse for not eating Klaus’ creations. Number Four came up with some questionable food combinations.

Sometimes it was Vanya. These nights were Ben’s favorites because he could sit and read as he listened to his sister’s beautiful violin playing.

Allison’s nights were the most heartbreaking. They usually consisted of his sister crying over how much she missed her daughter until she fell into an exhausted sleep. Ben felt helpless and useless on these nights, what he wouldn't give to be able to wrap her in his arms and provide her some kind of comfort.

Diego would usually come back from patrolling the streets and fall immediately into bed. But occasionally, if he was hyped up over something that had happened or if he was mad that something had gone wrong, he would choose to get in a bit of extra training. Ben would follow him to the training room and read to the sounds of his brother’s fists connecting with the punching bag.

Luther was the most consistent with his sleep schedule. Ben knew it came from his time on the moon, and even months later Luther liked to go to sleep at the same time every night. Sometimes he would wake up in the middle of the night, however, and do a lap around the house. He would go around and check all of the doors and windows and then look in at each of his siblings. Once he was sure everyone was safe, he would go back to sleep.

Then there were nights like tonight, when all of Ben’s siblings were sleeping soundly in their beds. They’d all spent a long day training and then had all fallen asleep early.

Ben wandered around the mansion aimlessly for a while before settling in Klaus’ room. He sat in the chair Klaus had supplied for him and pulled out his book. He knew it was going to be a long, quiet, lonely night. Ben was just thankful that the laws of the undead somehow let him read his books, he really would be lost without them.

Ben had only been reading for a little while, however, when the silence was interrupted by Klaus shifting suddenly in his bed. Ben frowned and lowered his book so that he could see if his brother was having a nightmare. Klaus rolled over onto his side so he was facing Ben and he saw that his brother was drenched in sweat.

“Shit,” Ben whispered, Klaus wasn’t having a nightmare, he was sick again. Ben considered trying to wake Klaus up to get some medicine in him, but Klaus had stilled so he decided just to let him sleep.

This decision didn’t last long, however, because pretty soon Klaus was shivering so hard his entire bed was shaking. 

“Klaus! Wake up, Klaus!” Ben yelled in his brother’s ear, unable to shake him awake. "Klaus, wake up!" Klaus didn’t respond and Ben watched in horror as his shivering turned into seizing. Ben realized with dread that Klaus’ fever must be way too high.

Klaus’ movements caused him to fall off the side of his narrow bed. Ben instinctively reached out to catch him, but Klaus fell right through him to the floor.

“Oh god, oh god, oh god,” Ben was starting to panic and he’d never wished he could be alive more than he did right now.

Because of his panic, it took Ben a few seconds to realize that the room appeared to be shaking. There also was an unusually large amount of ghosts in the bedroom. Ben looked back down at Klaus and saw that his hands were glowing blue the way they did whenever he made Ben corporal. Ben experimentally put his hand on Klaus’ shoulder and almost cried when it didn’t go through.

“I’ll be right back,” He assured his still seizing brother and ran out the door. “Help, help,” Ben yelled as he ran into Diego’s room. Diego looked like he was starting to wake up, but Ben ran over and shook his shoulder for good measure.

“Hey, cut it...Ben?” Diego said sleepily as he caught sight of his dead brother. The entire house seemed to be shaking now and Diego noticed this as he sat up in alarm. “What’s happening?”

“Klaus, he’s-” Ben didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence as Diego was already running out of the room. They had to push past a number of ghosts to get to Klaus’ room. Ben could hear exclamations of confusion from his other siblings from down the hall, but he didn’t stop to explain.

“Oh shit,” Diego swore as he made it to Klaus’ room. He knelt down next to his brother but didn’t touch him, obviously unsure of how to help.

“He started shivering in his sleep, I tried to wake him up and then he started seizing,” Ben said, kneeling next to Diego.

“What do we do? Ben? Ben!” Diego called, turning to look at Ben, but his eyes didn’t seem to be focusing on his brother.

Ben was confused for a moment before he realized what had happened. The blue emanating from Klaus’ hands had faded and Diego could no longer see him. Ben focused on Klaus and was relieved to see that he finally stopped seizing. Diego noticed this too and immediately pulled his unconscious and shivering brother onto his lap.

The rest of their sibling stumbled into the room, all looking disheveled and alarmed.

“We couldn’t get through, there were too many ghosts,” Vanya said sounding like she was in shock.

“What happened?” FIve asked as they all rushed over to surround Diego and Klaus.

“H-he’s burning up, when I got here he was s-siezing,” Diego said softly.

“We should get mom,” Luther responded.

“She’s probably recharging, besides there’s no time, we have to bring his fever down now,” Allison said. “Claire had a high fever once and the doctor’s told us they can be really dangerous. We have to get him into an ice bath.”

“You aren’t supposed to use cold water, you are supposed to use lukewarm water to slowly bring the temperature down,” Five argued.

“Maybe for a run of the mill fever, but if his fever is bad enough to cause him to seize, it can cause some serious damage if we don’t bring it down quickly. Are we agreed?” Allison countered. Five hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Good. Vanya go run the cold water in the tub. Five go get all of the ice out of the freezer and bring it up here.” Allison instructed in the calm but assertive manner of a mother. Ben saw the effect her calmness had on her siblings and they all took a breath and then jumped into action.

Luther looked like he was about to bend over and pick Klaus up, but Diego was already standing up with their brother in his arms.

“This kid needs to eat more,” Diego commented as he easily carried Klaus down the hall.

“What exactly is going on?” A voice asked from down the hall. Allison, Luther, and Ben all turned to see Pogo hurrying towards him.

“I’ll fill him in, you go look after Klaus,” Luther said, giving Allison’s arm a gentle squeeze. Allison nodded as she and Ben followed Diego into the bathroom.

Five had already dumped all the ice he could find into the tub and it was steadily filling up with cold water. Diego and Allison gently lowered Klaus into the tub, leaving on the shorts he’d gone to bed in. Diego knelt at the head of the tub and wrapped his arms around Klaus to keep his head above water. Five dipped a washcloth in the cold water and put it on Klaus’ forehead. Vanya took another washcloth and started running over Klaus’ chest and shoulders where the water hadn’t reached yet.

Alison went over to the medicine cabinet and pulled out a thermometer. They all waited with bated breath to see what Klaus’ temperature would be.

“104.2, damn it, that’s bad,” Allison said in frustration when she took the thermometer out of Klaus’ mouth.

“What do we do if this doesn’t work?” Vanya asked in alarm.

“Pogo went to wake up mom, she’ll know what to do if the ice bath doesn’t work,” Luther said, coming into the bathroom and answering Vanya’s question. They all relaxed a small amount at Luther’s words. Yes, they were all grown adults, but knowing their mother was coming to help still brought them a great amount of relief. Grace was designed to deal with exactly this kind of thing.

“Oh Klaus, what are we going to do with you?” Ben asked, sitting on the edge of the tub near Vanya.

“I thought he was better,” Diego said softly.

“He was, it’s been two weeks since his last fever,” Five responded.

“So, is this something different?” Vanya asked.

“I don’t know,” Five said, tilting his head and narrowing his eyes at Klaus like he was an equation he couldn’t solve. 

An uneasy silence fell over the Hargreeves at Five’s admission. They all knew that he hated not knowing things and hated admitting he didn’t know them even more. It wasn’t very often they were faced with a problem that Five didn’t at least have a theory about how to fix. But still, he wasn’t a trained medical professional, so Ben could only hope that Mom would be able to shed more light on the situation.

A few minutes later Grace came in and everyone except Diego and Ben backed up to give her room to examine Klaus. She took his temperature and announced that it had gone down to 103.9 degrees. A small bit of the pressure released from Ben’s chest, but he couldn’t fully relax because Klaus’ temperature was still high and he hadn’t woken up yet.

“Leave him in the bath until his temperature drops below 103 or until he starts shivering,” Grace instructed. “Then, drain the tub and refill it with lukewarm water.”

“There it is,” Five muttered under his breath but Allison heard him and stuck her tongue out at him. Five looked like he wanted to say something more, but Diego cut him off.

“You were both right, now shut up.”

“What’s wrong with him?” Luther asked, staring at Klaus in concern.

“I don’t know,” Grace said and Ben felt a punch in his gut at hearing the same words Five had said echoed by their mother. “I am going to take some blood and run a few tests.”

“I’ll assist you,” Pogo offered. Diego helped lift Klaus a bit higher out of the tub and looked away as Pogo and Grace drew the blood. “Can we trust you children to look after your brother while we run a few tests?” Pogo said when they had finished.

“Of course,” Vanya answered for them all. In the midst of everything, Ben couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride at seeing Vanya being comfortable with being the voice of her siblings.

“Come and fetch us straight away if his temperature goes back up or if any new symptoms develop,” Grace said as she stood up. “If he wakes up before I return, give him two of these,” Their mom said as she handed Allison the bottle of Ibuprofen. She gave Klaus a kiss on the forehead and looked at him in a way that almost seemed concerned. Then, she gave the rest of her children a reassuring smile and headed out of the door. Pogo stroked Klaus’ cheek lightly before following her.

“Why isn’t he waking up?” Diego said into the silence that followed their departure.

“Self-preservation. His body shut down all nonessential functions to help keep him alive. As soon as his temperature drops a bit more he should wake up,” Five answered. They all looked at him in surprise and when Five caught sight of their glances he shrugged, “I did a bit of research on fevers after his last one.”

“We should play some music,” Luther said suddenly. “He’s always listening to music.” And with that, Luther hurried out of the bathroom.

“Bless him, he’s trying,” Ben said out of habit before realizing that Klaus wasn’t awake to hear his comment. “Damn it, Klaus, wake up,” Ben said loudly, hoping to get a reaction, but not surprised when he didn’t.

Luther came back in and soon soothing songs from their childhood were washing over them all.

“Do you think his immune system is just shit after years of drugs and living on the streets?” Diego asked after they listened to the music quietly for a few minutes.

“It’s possible,” Five said, but he didn’t sound convinced. "It seems unlikely that he would contract two illnesses that cause high fevers in the span of two weeks though."

“Do you guys ever regret not being there for him more?” Vanya asked quietly.

“I was there for him plenty. I picked him up from random places drunk and high at all hours of the night more times than I can count,” Diego said gruffly.

“So did I, but I mean as kids, when his addiction first started. We never tried to stop him or consider the fact that he was resorting to drugs because he couldn’t stand his power,” Vanya pressed on.

“We were all too wrapped up in the individual torture dad was putting us through,” Five said grimly.

“God, I was a selfish person. Until Claire was taken away from me, I never really realized how self-absorbed I had been my entire life,” Allison said, her voice barely a whisper. 

“I appreciate everything you guys have done to include me into the family, and I think we are making a lot of progress, but you guys need to focus on taking care of each other as well. We were raised horribly and we each responded to that in a different way. We were kids, and it’s normal for kids to only be aware of what they are experiencing and not think about other people. But a wise woman once told me that we aren’t kids anymore and that we can’t blame our problems on anyone other than ourselves,” Vanya said and Ben saw her give Allison a small smile.

“She’s right, we all could step up more and try to fix the damage dear old dad left us with,” Diego agreed.

“About damn time,” Ben muttered, glad that his siblings finally seemed to be hashing things out. He just wished Klaus was awake to see this. Maybe then he would be able to convince Klaus to finally tell his siblings about the Mausoleum and Vietnam and everything else he'd kept to himself.

“And how exactly do we do that?” Five asked, gruffly but not unkindly.

“No idea,” Diego responded.

“We put family first, we look out for one another, and we try as hard as we can to see things from each other’s perspectives. It’s not going to be perfect, but it’s important we try,” Luther answered, surprising them all.

“I can do that,” Five said seriously.

“We all can,” Allison added.

“Hey, uh speaking of looking out for one another, I think our boy here is ready for some lukewarm water,” Diego said. They all turned to look at him and found Klaus shivering in Diego’s hold.

“Shit,” Vanya said and reached down to pull out the plug. Five got the thermometer and popped it into Klaus’ mouth.

“103.3, still not great, but at least it’s better.”

Once the cold water had drained they filled the tub back up with lukewarm water and Klaus stilled. Ben really wished he’d wake up, he hated to see his brother like this. Klaus was supposed to be vibrant and full of life, not lying unconscious and feverish in a tub.

The conversation faded away as the five siblings listened to the music Luther had put on and waited for Klaus to wake up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the sibling bonding doesn't seem too mushy or OOC. In my head, they went back and fixed time and then went back to the present, So they've all had some time to bond as a family. I'm hoping it comes through that they are able to work more closely as a family while still being true to the characters.


	4. Chapter 4

Ben assumed that Klaus would wake up suddenly. He imagined him gasping and sitting up in a way that got all of their siblings soaking wet, something in keeping with the dramatic bitch he was.

That wasn’t at all what happened, however. Klaus woke up painfully slow, stirring for a few minutes before his eyes finally fluttered open. Even then, it took him a few moments to be able to focus on his surroundings. Klaus looked down at the tub and then around at his siblings, who were watching him with bated breath. His gaze finally settled on Ben and his green eyes were slightly panicked.

“You’re sick again, your fever was so high they had to put you in the bath to cool you down. You’re just sick, nothing else,” Ben rushed to explain, knowing that Klaus’ mind had gone straight to thinking he’d ODed.

“Klaus? You’re okay, you just have another fever,” Five said a second later, apparently coming to the same conclusion as Ben.

Klaus visibly relaxed at the assurances of his two siblings. He leaned back and then seemed to notice the arms holding him. He looked back at Diego and gave him a small smile before easing back against his brother’s chest.

“Why am I in the tub?” Klaus said sleepily, his eyes drifting closed.

“It was the quickest way to bring your temperature down,” Allison answered and Ben tried not to be too alarmed that Klaus was asking about information that he’d already given him. Klaus opened his eyes again and looked around at his siblings.

“What happened?”

“We just told you...you had a fever-” Five started to explain in frustration but Klaus interrupted him with a wave of his hand.

“No, yeah, I got that. I’m asking what else happened. You all look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Klaus said and shot Ben a weak wink along with his lame joke. Most days Ben would’ve found his death humor to be amusing, but today it hit a little too close to home. “Geesh, tough crowd,” Klaus said when no one responded. Ben could tell that none of his siblings were eager to say the words out loud, so he jumped in.

“You had a seizure,” He said quietly. Klaus’ gaze snapped to him, all traces of joking gone. “I could tell you had a fever, but I didn’t realize it was that bad until it was too late. Everyone was sleeping and I couldn’t wake you up. I didn’t know what to do. Then your hands started glowing, the house started shaking, and suddenly there were dozens of corporal ghosts everywhere, including me. I went and got Diego, then you stopped seizing and the ghosts disappeared and they all put you in an ice bath to cool you down.”

“Ah, so that’s why there are so many extra ghosts around,” Klaus said looking around at the ghosts crowding in around his siblings.

“Is Ben explaining it?” Vanya asked, brushing some of Klaus’ wet hair off of his forehead.

“Fever, seizure, ghosts, ice bath...got it,” Klaus summarized. 

“You really scared us, man,” Diego said shakily and Klaus twisted around to look at his brother in surprise.

The sudden movement turned out to be a bad idea as the color drained from Klaus’ face and he clutched his stomach.

“I’m gonna hurl,” He said between clenched teeth. Diego and Luther quickly helped Klaus out of the tub and over to the toilet where he proceeded to empty what little of what was in his stomach. Luther rubbed his back as the rest of their siblings winced in sympathy.

When Klaus had finished, he slumped back against the wall, pale and soaking wet. One arm was wrapped around his stomach and the other massaged his forehead.

“God, I feel like I’m recovering from a long night of partying. What’s wrong with me?”

“We don’t know yet, Grace and Pogo took some blood to run some tests,” Five answered as Allison handed Klaus a cup of water and ibuprofen. 

“Ugh” was Klaus’ response as he swallowed the pills. Then he leaned his head back against the wall and let his eyes fall shut. "The music is a nice touch," He said softly after a moment. Ben saw Luther's face light up in happy surprise.

“Do you want to go back in the bath or would you rather change into dry clothes and go to bed?” Vanya asked. Klaus thought about it for a little while. It took him so long to respond that Ben thought he might have fallen asleep. But finally, he squinted open his eyes and said quietly,

“Bed.”

“Okay,” Diego said and stepped forward to offer his hand. It was odd to see Klaus accept the help without an over the top comment. He simply allowed himself to be hauled to his feet and then put his arms around Allison and Diego’s shoulders when they wrapped their arms around him to keep him upright. The lack of flair and obnoxious commentary told Ben how lousy Klaus was actually feeling.

“Sorry,” Klaus murmured when they got to his room and he realized that he was dripping all over the floor and his two siblings. They released him and Vanya stepped forward to wrap a towel around him.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll help you change into dry clothes,” Diego said, taking one for the team. Ben knew that this was not the first time he’d seen his brother in his birthday suit. Klaus wasn’t very fond of clothing when he was really high.

The rest of their family waited outside while Diego helped Klaus change into a loose t-shirt and some sweatpants. Klaus fell into his bed the second he was dressed, looking exhausted. Diego sat on the edge of his bed and brushed back some of Klaus’ curls.

“Okay,” Diego called and their siblings came into the room. Allison handed the thermometer to Diego who put it in Klaus’ mouth despite his groans of annoyance.

“Will you stop complaining, we just have to make sure you aren’t at risk of having another seizure,” Five said abruptly. Klaus quieted at his words and gave his siblings an apologetic look.

“Five, ease up will you,” Luther said and Five gave an apologetic look of his own. “I think what Five was trying to say was that you scared us and we just want to make sure that you are getting better,” Luther tried to explain.

“102.4” Diego said and everyone visibly relaxed. This was familiar territory, they had dealt with this once before and knew how to handle it.

Five jumped out of the room and then jumped back in with a bowl of water and a washcloth. This time, instead of handing it over to one of his siblings, he jumped so that he was sitting cross-legged on Klaus’ bed. He was sitting on the far side of Klaus, with his back against the wall. Klaus didn’t react to the sudden appearance of his brother, but he did startle slightly when Five put the cool cloth on his head.

“No movie this time?” Klaus said, his eyes closed and his voice soft.

“Klaus, you are already half asleep,” Ben pointed out, taking a seat next to Five.

“No,” Klaus said unconvincingly.

“Whatever Ben just said, I’d be inclined to agree with him. I’m guessing it was along the lines of you needing sleep,” Vanya said, taking a seat on the floor next to Klaus’ bed. Allison sat next to her and Luther sat in the chair across from the bed, the one Klaus had put there for Ben.

“It had a bit more sass then that,” Klaus couldn’t help but quip, opening his eyes to smile at his siblings. “But that was the gist of it.”

“Well, Ben’s right, you need your sleep. But we will all stay here with you in case you need anything,” Allison reassured him. Klaus still seemed hesitant to close his eyes, looking around at each of his siblings.

“Shouldn’t we talk about the whole house shaking thing?” He asked.

“We can figure that out when you are feeling better,” Five answered and Ben could tell he was excited to help Klaus explore his new power.

“Okay, but shouldn’t I wait until mom gets back and we can hear what she has to say?” Klaus tried again. Ben realized that he was avoiding going to sleep because he was afraid. He was afraid of this unknown sickness, he was afraid of the ghosts surrounding him, and he was afraid of falling asleep and waking up alone.

“Mom might still be running tests for a while, but you should get some sleep in the meantime,” Luther tried to talk their brother down.

“Yeah, but-”

“Hey,” Diego said gently, bringing Klaus’ green eyes to him. Diego seemed to sense what Klaus needed as he put a hand on Klaus’ shoulder. “We’ve got you,” Diego said, his voice was comforting but firm and Klaus finally allowed himself to relax slightly, but he still didn't close his eyes. Klaus looked around at all of his siblings, searching for a sense of comfort in their gazes. They each met his eyes and gave him smiles and nods of encouragement.

No one dared to move as Klaus nodded and finally closed his eyes. It wasn’t until his breathing evened out and his head rolled to the side that they allowed themselves to release the collective breath they’d been holding.

“He’s asleep,” Luther whispered unnecessarily. 

“Finally,” Five said as he removed the warm cloth from Klaus’ forehead to dip it into the cool water.

A silence fell over the room as all of the Hargreeves realized how bone tired they were. They’d all been woken up in the middle of the night by a shaking house and then they had spent the past couple hours scared for Klaus and trying to help him. It all added up to a physically and emotionally draining few hours.

Diego moved first, shifting so that he was sitting on the ground with his back against Klaus’ bed. He leaned his head back against Klaus’ mattress and closed his eyes.

“You guys get some sleep while you can, I’ll stay up and monitor him,” Five offered.

“Are you sure?” Vanya asked.

“Yeah, I’m not tired anyway,” Five said with a small smile. Luther disappeared only to return a few minutes later with an armful of pillows and blankets which he distributed to his siblings.

Twenty minutes later, Luther, Allison, and Vanya were all curled up asleep on the floor. Diego was asleep next to them, still leaning against the bed. The only sounds were the deep breathing of their siblings and water sloshing as Five refreshed the washcloth.

“Hey, Ben,” Five said softly a little while later. Even though he whispered it, Ben still jumped in surprise. It was going to take a while for him to get used to his siblings addressing him directly. “I just want to....it’s just…” Five trailed off with a frustrated sigh. Ben wished he could materialize so he could tell Five that it was okay.

Five replaced the washcloth on Klaus’ head and then ran his hand gently down his brother’s cheek.

“I just wanted to say thank you for looking out for him all of these years. The way Klaus talks about it, it sounds like you were always trying to be the voice of logic. I know I wasn’t here...but I think even if I was...what I’m trying to say is that I know our other siblings didn’t support Klaus as much as they could have, and if I were here I probably would’ve done the same thing. I mean it’s not like Klaus makes it easy, he actually makes it quite difficult. But, that’s beside the point...” Five paused and sighed again, running his hand through his hair, obviously searching for the right words.

“We are trying to do better this time around, so what I’m trying to say is I know you’ve been looking out for Klaus on your own for years, but you don’t have to do that anymore. We are all here now and I promise I’m not going to let anything happen to him,” Five finally finished. Ben heard a tremor in his voice and realized how frightened Five was for Klaus’ well-being. He may be 58 years old, but he didn’t know everything and the fact that he didn’t know what was going with Klaus was clearly causing him distress. 

Ben reached out to put his hand on Five’s shoulder. He knew it wouldn’t do anything, but he also needed to try and comfort his brother. Five and Ben were both surprised when Ben’s hand landed on Five’s shoulder. Ben looked down at himself and saw that he was glowing blue. He and Five exchanged a startled look and then they both turned to look at Klaus.

Their sick brother’s face was scrunched up in concentration and his hands were glowing. Ben started to tell Klaus to stop before he caused himself more damage, but before he could, Klaus said,

“I can’t hold this for long, so please just hug each other already.”

Ben didn’t hesitate, he reached over and pulled Five into his arms. Five was still for a few seconds. Ben couldn’t imagine what it felt like to be hugged by the ghost of your dead brother. After a little while, however, Five relaxed and wrapped his arms around Ben.

Ben held onto Five tightly but also reached down to take Klaus’ glowing hand in one of his own. The three stayed like that for a little while, unmoving. It didn’t feel like how it felt when he was alive, but Ben could feel the solidness of his siblings and that was enough.

Eventually, Ben felt a wave of nothingness flow over him. Five almost tipped over but caught himself, and Klaus’ hand fell back against the bed. Five looked at Ben, but the ghost knew that he now only saw air.

“Klaus?” Five whispered, turning his attention to Number Four. Klaus was lying still with his eyes closed and Ben couldn’t tell if he was conscious or not. “Klaus,” Five said again, leaning over his brother and tapping his cheek lightly.

“M’kay,” Klaus said with a groan and Five relaxed slightly. “That just....took a lot...outta me.”

“You shouldn’t have done that,” Five reprimanded, but his voice was gentle. Klaus opened his green eyes to look at his brother, he reached his hand up and although Five flinched, he allowed Klaus to cup his cheek. 

“You needed to see Ben, and he needed to comfort you,” Klaus explained, his gaze shifting to Ben. Ben felt a rush of affection towards his kind brother.

“You still shouldn’t have done that. You are sick and we don’t know what’s wrong with you. Using your powers could make it worse,” Five said. He took Klaus’ hand off of his cheek but kept holding it in his own. “But...I’m glad you did, thank you.”

“Anytime, bro. Although maybe not anytime, because I couldn’t do it again now…” Klaus said, his voice getting softer the more he talked. Five rolled his eyes but gave Klaus a small smile.

“You should get some rest.”

“I don’t really know what’s going on, but you should both get some rest,” Diego’s voice startled them all. Diego moved to sit back on the bed, giving Five and Klaus a suspicious look. Ben had no idea how long he’d been awake, but he suspected that he hadn’t seen Ben become corporal.

Diego put his hand on Klaus’ cheek and frowned. Then, he took the thermometer off of Klaus’ dresser and popped it in his mouth.

“102.1,” Diego read. “I was hoping your temperature would be lower. It dropped down faster last time you were sick.” He said and Five and Klaus exchanged a look.

“At least it’s dropping,” Klaus said sleepily. Diego looked between Klaus and Five like he could tell something was up but didn’t know how to ask.

“Yes, it is,” Diego said, deciding to let it go, for now at least. “And you know what would help with that? Sleep. Both of you,” Diego repeated, looking at Five. “I’ll look after Klaus.”

Five looked like he wanted to argue, but Klaus tugged on their joined hands. Five seemed to realize he was still holding Klaus’ hand and immediately released it, but he still lay down beside Klaus. Satisfied, Klaus curled up on his side and closed his eyes. Diego draped a blanket over Five who reluctantly closed his eyes as well.

“Love you guys,” Klaus said in a barely audible whisper.

“You too, moron,” Five responded without missing a beat.

“Ditto,” Diego said with a grin.


	5. Chapter 5

“So there’s nothing wrong with me?” Klaus asked in surprise. It had been 4 days since his fever-induced seizure and they’d all gathered in the infirmary for the latest update from Pogo and their mom. Ben was glad that Klaus seemed to have returned to his normal self, but it was slightly concerning considering how quickly and out of the blue he’d come down with his last fever. Ben had taken to watching Klaus like a hawk at night, looking for any signs of sickness.

Currently, Klaus was feeling perfectly fine. In fact, he’d even been able to conjure Ben for the family meeting. Ben didn’t want Klaus to strain himself too much, but he did enjoy getting to feel like he was actually a part of the family.

“I said we haven’t been able to find anything wrong with you, not that there isn’t anything wrong,” Pogo explained calmly.

“Because there’s obviously something wrong, right?” Luther said.

“No duh, dipshit,” Five ground out.

“Language Number Five,” Grace said, smoothly.

“Sorry, Mom...sorry Luther,” Five apologized. “I’m just frustrated. I’ve been helping Pogo and Mom test for every disease that matches Klaus’ symptoms. Trust me when I tell you there are a lot of illnesses that cause high fevers.”

“We started with the ones most likely based on Klaus’ demographic and we have now started to move on to the less likely ones,” Grace explained further. “But I am afraid I am going to have to take some more blood, Klaus.”

“No worries,” Klaus said and held out his arm nonchalantly. Grace took hold of his hand and first pricked his finger. “Ouch, I swear that hurts more than getting my blood drawn,” Klaus said, shooting a dramatic look in Ben’s direction. Ben rolled his eyes at Klaus’ complaining but smiled as soon as Klaus broke eye contact.

“Hm, your blood sugar is slightly low,” Grace read the results of the finger prick.

“W-what does that mean?” Diego asked from his spot in the farthest corner from the needles.

“It’s nothing to worry about, it just means that I will draw Klaus’ blood after dinner, which is in 20 minutes,” Grace reassured the siblings. “Which reminds me, I need to go check on the chicken.” And with that their mother hurried out of the room.

Pogo and the rest of their siblings started to head out of the room, but Ben’s attention was on Klaus, who hadn’t moved from where he was sitting on the exam bed.

“Klaus?” He asked and was grateful that he was corporal when his family stopped and turned back to look at them. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Klaus said and hopped off the bed. He went to move past Ben, but Number Six stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. Ben didn’t need to say anything, he just gave Klaus a look that said he knew Klaus was lying and he wouldn’t let it go until he got the truth.

“Klaus? Ben? What’s going on?” Vanya questioned as she and their siblings came back into the room and surrounded the two of them. Ben saw Pogo leave out of the corner of his eye, apparently wanting to give the siblings some space.

“I just…” Klaus looked around at his family. “I just hate not knowing,” He said in a small voice.

Ben’s stomach dropped as he realized what Klaus was saying. He’d been so wrapped up in how nervous and scared he was for Klaus, he never stopped to think how scared Klaus must be. After all, Klaus was the one who kept getting ridiculously sick for an unexplainable reason.

“I’m sorry, that must be so scary for you, I didn’t even think…” Ben trailed off as words failed him and instead wrapped his arms around Klaus, who melted into the hug immediately. Ben felt a weird pressure and looked around to realize that all of his siblings had joined the hug. Even Five, although he looked like he already wanted it to end.

“We’ll figure it out,” Allison assured Klaus, although they all knew she had no way of guaranteeing that.

“We won’t stop looking,” Five promised and everyone knew how relentless Five was. When he said he wouldn’t stop looking, it meant he would never stop looking. “Are we done hugging so I can go back to my research?” Five asked a few seconds later.

Everyone laughed and stepped back out of the hug, but Ben still kept his hand on Klaus’ shoulder.

“Better?” He asked his brother. Klaus nodded, his eyes grateful and suspiciously bright.

“Good,” Diego said and patted Klaus’ cheek. “I’m gonna go sharpen my knives before dinner.

Ben stepped back as Vanya came over to give Klaus a tight hug before she left to go get in a quick training session. Luther gave Klaus a couple of awkward pats on the back before going to help Vanya train.

Allison kissed him on the cheek and then went to call Claire. Five didn’t give him any physical affection, but he did reaffirm his promise to keep looking before he jumped out of the room.

As soon as they were alone, Klaus sighed and slumped slightly. Ben could feel that he was no longer tangible.

“Sorry Benny, can’t hold it any longer,” Klaus apologized and Ben noted how tired he looked. He decided not to comment on this since he knew how important it was to Klaus that he made Ben corporal for both him and their siblings.

“It’s okay, you held it for long enough,” Ben assured him, frowning at how slowly Klaus was climbing the stairs. “Where are we going?”

“To my room, I have time for a quick twenty minute lie down,” Klaus said.

“Are you feeling okay?” Ben asked.

“Yeah, yeah, just good ole power exhausted. Remember that one mission you came home and slept for two days straight?”

“I try not to,” Ben muttered. He’d had to release the horrors multiple times on that mission, it had been awful.

They finally made it to Klaus’ room and he fell onto the bed, but he didn’t shut his eyes like Ben had assumed he would, instead he stared straight up at the ceiling.

“Do you think if I die, we’ll be able to haunt our siblings together?” Klaus asked.

“So that little family hug didn’t really do much to calm your nerves, huh?” Ben said, sitting down in the chair next to the bed. Klaus’ mouth quirked slightly, but he didn’t respond in any other way. “Klaus, you aren’t going to die,” Ben said with a sigh. “Pogo, Five, and Grace will figure out what’s wrong you and get you fixed up in no time.”

“Everyone keeps saying that, but it’s been weeks since my first fever and they haven’t found anything,” Klaus pointed out. 

“Yes, but the first fever they thought was just related to the flu. They didn’t have any reason to do extra research until this second fever,” Ben countered.

“Good point,” Klaus said with a sigh. He turned his head so he could fix Ben with an intense look. “Tell me the truth, do you think they can figure it out?”

“I do,” Ben said without hesitation. “Grace and Pogo were made by Father to figure things like this out, and Five, well, Five is just a straight-up genius. And a ruthless one at that. With the three of them working on a problem, there is nothing the can’t figure out.” Ben spoke with confidence and he pretty much believed what he was saying, but there was a small part of him that held doubts. It did make him nervous that they didn’t seem to have any leads at all, but telling Klaus this would do him no good.

“A monkey, a robot, and a ruthless genius...somebody should make a T.V. show about that,” Klaus said with a little giggle. 

“Pogo’s a Chimpanzee,” Ben corrected, even though he was pretty sure Klaus had purposefully made the mistake to rile Ben up. Ben was glad to see that he seemed to have calmed down a bit.

The dinner bell rang and Klaus groaned.

“That was quick,” He said as he struggled into a sitting position.

“Well it did take you a while to get up here,” Ben pointed out. Klaus glared at him and made no move to stand up. “Klaus, are you feeling alright?” 

“Peachy keen,” Klaus said, but as he sat up he looked unsteady and pale.

“Klaus, don’t lie to me,” Ben said seriously, although his voice was tinged with worry. The combination of those things had Klaus looking at him solemnly. 

“It doesn’t feel like a fever...but I’m a little dizzy,” He finally admitted.

“Can you make me visible?” Ben asked.

“I don’t have enough energy,” Klaus said as he stood up. He didn’t keel over as Ben had feared, but he did sway slightly as he made his way to the door.

“I’ll be right back,” Ben said and ran to see if any of their siblings were in their rooms. He grew more and more panicked with each empty room he passed. They must all be down in the kitchen or on the main floor. Ben returned to Klaus and found that he’d made his way down the hallway a bit.

Ben debated trying to get Klaus into bed, it was becoming clear that something was very wrong with him. He ultimately decided not to, because he didn’t want something to happen to Klaus while nobody was around. They had to find a member of their family, and fast.

“Klaus, do you think you can make it down the stairs?” Ben asked. Klaus was leaning heavily against the wall and every step he took looked like it was a lot of effort for him.

“I’ve made it up and down those stairs drunk and high, I think I can do it now,” Klaus grumbled irritably. Ben blinked in surprise at his tone but didn’t comment on it. They made it a few more steps before Klaus tripped and fell to his knees. 

“Klaus, are you okay?” Ben asked, trying to keep his voice calm.

“Damnit, why is everything so blurry?” Klaus said as he struggled his way back up to his feet. “Where am I going again?” He asked once he’d regained his footing.

“Down to the first floor to tell one of our family members that you are sick,” Ben said, alarmed at Klaus’ confusion.

“Right,” Klaus said and took a shaky step forward.

“That’s good, just one step at a time,” Ben urged.

“Shut up,” Klaus snapped. Ben looked at him in surprise but didn’t say another word. 

After what seemed like an eternity, they finally made it to the top of the stairs. Ben looked down the staircase and second-guessed his decision to have Klaus try to make it down them. Klaus had barely been able to make it down the hallway and his coordination was quickly getting worse. There was no way he would be able to make it down the stairs.

“Klaus, maybe you should just wait here until somebody finds you?” Ben suggested at the risk of getting his head bit off again.

“I can do it,” Klaus said as he stood at the top of the stairs and held on tightly to the banister. He was pale and sweaty and looked like he was about to pass out.

“Klaus this is a bad idea, you are going to fall, we should wait,” Ben pleaded.

“God, Ben, do you ever stop nagging? Just shut up and let me live my own life,” Klaus snapped angrily. Ben felt the words like a punch to his gut.

“Klaus?” A voice called. They both looked down the stairs to see Vanya standing at the bottom, looking up at Klaus in concern. “I was just coming to check on you, are you okay?”

Before Vanya could take a step towards him, the remaining color drained out of Klaus’ face, his eyes rolled back in his head, and he began to fall down the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost done! I might end up splitting the last chapter into two parts depending on how long it ends up being :-D
> 
> Any guesses about what Klaus has?


End file.
